Mali’s Minister for Diaspora and Migration, Abdramane Sylla, on Friday, said it would be absurd for government to try to negotiate with jihadists.
Sylla said this when he represented the Foreign Minister, Abdoulaye Diop, at a news conference in Bamako, alongside France’s Foreign Minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault and his German counterpart, Sigmar Gabriel.
A peace conference in Mali last Sunday concluded with calls to start talks with the leaders of two violent Islamist groups.
He said “at the moment, Malian people have decided to make peace but someone has continued to claim responsibility for attacks on Malian and foreign forces.
“I think it’s absurd to negotiate with these terrorists, especially when they’ve just declared war on 11 countries.’’ (Reuters/NAN)